MANHATTAN — The first phase of the $2.1 billion project to extend the 7 train to the far West Side of Manhattan has been completed.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and MTA Chairman Jay Walder announced Monday morning that the second of two tunnel boring machines had reached the southern wall of the 34th Street station cavern after drilling 2,900 feet under Eleventh Avenue from 26th Street.
The tunnel — financed by the city and the MTA — is meant to bring subway service to the Hudson Yards project, which would create a new neighborhood over MTA rail yards.
“It’s been a half century since City government expanded its subway system, but that drought will soon be at an end,” Bloomberg said in a news release.
“The redevelopment of the Hudson Yards has been talked about for decades, but with the expansion of the number 7 line, its potential will finally be realized.”
The boring machines were launched last summer. According to the city, the first 300 feet of drilling was slowed by soft ground, causing the use of a technique called "ground freeze" which hardens the ground and allows the machines to pass. As the machines proceed, they add concrete rings that line the tunnel wall.
The new service will run from Times Square to 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue. Tunnels were dug down to 25th Street to allow for train storage.
One boring machine has already started its journey toward 42nd Street, the city said. That tunnel will run under Eighth Avenue subway, NJ Transit, Amtrak, the former New York Central Line tunnels, the Lincoln Tunnel and the Port Authority Bus Terminal ramps.
Tunneling is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2010 when work will begin on the stations and ventilation. Service is scheduled to open in December 2013.
